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Neighbors opposed to a planned Aldi supermarket on North Winton Road have lost their legal challenge to the project, and are considering an appeal.

Aldi wants to demolish 10 buildings and construct a 15,600-square-foot grocery store. The project has been in discussion since December 2014.

A handful of nearby residents and owners of the Tops Plaza, located across Blossom Road, sued the city, its zoning board and planning commission as well as Aldi, contesting various aspects of the review and approval process. State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Stander rejected the legal claims in an order dated Thursday.

The city issued the final approval for site plan review on Friday, with conditions. Aldi still has to submit final building drawings, however, and secure demolition permits. On Monday, the state accepted Aldi's remediation plan for site contamination left by a former gas station and car repair business.

Aldi’s plans for North Winton and Blossom roads, shown here in renderings from 2015.(Photo: Provided by City of Rochester)

No decision has yet been made on an appeal, said Alan Knauf, an attorney for the neighbors. Such legal action could tie up matters until at least January.

Aldi would like to opening the store by the end of the year, said Aaron Sumida, Aldi Tully division vice president, who added that the store will have roughly 11,000 square feet of selling space.

Mayor Lovely Warren said she had concerns about a saturation of grocery stores in the area — given the proximity of Tops Friendly Market, Wegmans Food Markets and PriceRite — but those were not shared by developers.

"I don't know their business plan," Warren said, but added that Aldi promised to look at other underserved parts of the city. "I'm hopeful they keep that commitment."

That was a concern of David Flaum, CEO of Flaum Management, which manages the plaza that his children own. In an affidavit, Flaum said that the opening of an Aldi store raised "a very serious risk" that Tops would choose not to renew its lease. But Stander said potential economic harm was insufficient grounds to challenge city determinations that he went on to say are supported by the record. He similarly found no basis for other challenges.